DOVER — After a two-week recess, lawmakers returned to Legislative Hall this week to discuss a wide variety of bills in the final nine days of session.

One of two recently introduced gun safety bills, House Bill 450, passed in the House chamber Thursday after receiving required support from the House Administration committee Wednesday.

The bill is sponsored by House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, and would prevent the buying, selling and possession of assault-style weapons in Delaware. The legislation was one of six bills included in a gun safety package announced by Gov. John Carney along with House and Senate Democratic leadership last week.

“The intention of this legislation is simple and clear: To make sure the next Uvalde, the next Buffalo, the next Sandy Hook, does not take place in the state of Delaware. It’s to make sure that, in Delaware, it is against the law to obtain the kind of weapons that can inflict this level of carnage and devastation — highly lethal weapons with their origins in the field of military combat, which have ended up in our schools and shopping malls,” Rep. Longhurst said in a House press release.

“The shooter at Robb Elementary School had an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle. The shooters in Buffalo, El Paso, Parkland, Las Vegas and Sandy Hook were also armed with semi-automatic assault-style weapons that would be prohibited by this bill.”

The gun safety package consists of two existing bills, HB 423 and Senate Bill 6; two newly introduced bills, HB 450 and HB 451; and two that have yet to be introduced. HB 451 passed in the House Administration committee Wednesday and awaits a full chamber vote, while HB 423 was deferred to Tuesday’s House agenda as the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, said there was “still a little bit more work that needs to be done.”

Rep. Dukes honors state champs

Just prior to Wednesday’s House chamber meeting, Rep. Tim Dukes, R-Laurel, was busy introducing yet another state champion high school sports team from his district. This time, it was the Laurel High School football team, who went 8-2 during the regular season before capping off their season with a Class 1A state championship win over St. Elizabeth High School. Rep. Dukes hosted the Bulldogs for a tour around Legislative Hall before a tribute in front of the House chamber.

“The 40th District has been hot,” Rep. Dukes said.

“I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of this football team; this is the fourth state championship in the history of Laurel High School.”

The tribute came just one day after Rep. Dukes hosted another state championship team, the Delmar High School field hockey team, who won its sixth state championship in November after a 19-0 season.

Lawmakers celebrate agreement with Taiwan

On Thursday, Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, and Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Newark, supplemented Senate Concurrent Resolution 92 by hosting Bi-khim Hsiao, of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, during the House session. The resolution supported the signing of a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and the Republic of China (Taiwan) and reaffirmed support for Taiwan’s participation and contributions in international organizations.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Baumbach, Rep. Ramone, Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover, and Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, passed in both the House and the Senate.

“Relationships build knowledge, knowledge builds opportunity, opportunity builds positions for us who are elected to help people, and that’s what we are supposed to be doing,” Rep. Ramone said.

Ms. Hsiao thanked the chamber for their support, and further emphasized the importance of America’s support for Taiwan.

“United States’ support for Taiwan is critical as part of the deterrence against any attempt at military attack against our democracy,” Ms. Hsiao said. “We do not want to see the tragedy of Ukraine repeated anywhere else in the world.

“I am reassured that the commitment to the relationship between Delaware and Taiwan stands strong.”

Motorcycle safety measures

Senate Bill 288, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna, and House Minority Leader Danny Short, R-Seaford, passed in the Senate Thursday.

The bill would launch a pilot program to allow motorcyclists to use flashing headlights to better alert other drivers of their whereabouts. An amendment to the bill changed the term “flashing” to “modulating” to differentiate from headlamps used on two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles.

The legislation does not allow motorcyclists to use the same type of flashing or modulating headlights as emergency vehicles and contains a clause to establish future traffic studies to determine the effectiveness of this measure.

SB 288 will now head to the House for consideration.

Lawmakers investing in early childhood education

House Substitute 1 for HB 377, which aims to improve the quality of the early childhood education workforce in Delaware, passed in the House Thursday.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Rae Moore, D-Middletown, who said it is the first step in addressing the early childhood education workforce crisis. She said one in six early childhood education educators left the profession during the pandemic due to low wages and minimal support offered to these professionals.

Under the legislation, the Department of Education would be required to conduct an annual workforce study of instructors in early childhood education. The department would be responsible for supporting the development and implementation of a plan to grow and expand the early childhood workforce.

HS 1 for HB 377 has been assigned to the Senate Education committee for consideration.

Residency of lawmakers clarified

HB 343 passed in the House on Thursday and will now head to the Senate for consideration. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Baumbach, is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution relating to the residences of elected officials.

The bill requires lawmakers to reside in the districts which they represent for the entire term of their office. HB 343 does not apply to current legislators who wish to change their residence in accordance with district lines who plan on representing their current district in the upcoming elections.

An amendment to the bill — introduced by Rep. Baumbach and approved by the House — would provide exceptions to lawmakers who are forced to relocate due to unforeseen events, such as a hurricane or flooding. The amendment states that if these instances result in the relocation of a legislator, they are not required to resign their office.

HB 343 with House Amendment 1 has been assigned to the Senate Executive committee for consideration.